Brewery ‘De Halve Maan’ from Bruges in Belgium, launched an alcohol-free version of their popular ‘Brugse Zot’ (Fool from Bruges) at the beginning of July. It was decided to baptize the beer ‘Sportzot’ because it contains hardly any alcohol (0.4%) and a lot less calories than its alcoholic brother. In Sportzot there are 69 calories per bottle of 33 cl., The alcoholic version counts 182 calories, about two and a half times more.
The brewers of De Halve Maan developed a filtration technique to filter the alcohol from their ‘Brugse Zot’, a process that takes 40 hours. This filtration technique, which is completely new and therefore a world first, ensures that the beer does not have to be distilled a second time and that the flavors of the ‘Brugse Zot’ should be preserved as well as possible. The beer will therefore not taste different or sweeter as is often the case with other non-alcoholic beers. Filter out the last 0.4% alcohol from the beer is theoretically possible but the filtration process to accomplish this would take too much time, making the production too slow. The beer costs, despite the much longer production process, barely more than the Brugse Zot. You can ask if and where Sportzot is available in your country on www.brugsezot.be
